Nice Guys Finish Second
by robotiancornattack
Summary: After being turned down by Mari, Joven has to find a way to cope while still being professional. As it turns out, Anthony also seems to be having relationship problems. Lasercorn gets the bright idea to push them together. Will it work or just backfire completely? Pairings: Jovanthony, Iancorn, & Marhinki. SEQUEL to The Fortune Cookie Told Me To!
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: Welllll hello there. True story, I got Chinese food recently and got the same damn fortune I gave Lasercorn at the beginning of The Fortune Cookie Told Me To. So I took that to mean only one thing - SEQUEL TIME! All these Jovanthony hints in the recent Game Bangs and elsewhere have been punching me right in the feels lately, and I got to thinking - heeeey, that would make a pretty story to tell in the Fortune Cookie universe. So here we are! Tbh, I'm not very good at working on two stories at once. I'm not sure how often this will be updated because I'm using it more as a way to get myself out of my writer's block for Perfectly Imperfect, but I'll do my best to not let both of the stories stew for too long. Either way, hope you enjoy! And also, to stay true to my n00b days of writing Fortune Cookie, I'm going to mostly address the people by their aliases - so Joven, Lasercorn, and Sohinki rather than Joshua, David, and Matt. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

Scrolling through his e-mail and twitter account had become something Joven dreaded. Ever since he lost his bet with Lasercorn and had to make his public love confession to Mari on that episode of 'Why We're Single,' any place people could reach him was flooded with messages questioning the outcome, wanting pictures, asking when the wedding was, so on and so forth. Each message a painful reminder that she had turned him down, each comment a knife in the gut to emphasize that she said she was with someone else.

Joven skimmed his messages idly, looking past the crap to see if there was anything actually useful in his inbox. He was happy for Mari, he honestly was. She seemed to have found a great guy, even if none of them had actually met him yet. But she always seemed to be in a good mood, and whenever she talked about her mysterious boyfriend, a smile would light up her face that both gutted Joven and elated him. Things hadn't changed on the surface between him and Mari. They were still friends. They still joked. He even still played pranks on her from time to time, but even in spite of his desperate attempt to keep things the same, they weren't.

And that didn't just go for things with Mari. Everything had changed as soon as Lasercorn and Ian started openly dating. They didn't see much of Lasercorn anymore. Before Iancorn became a thing, Lasercorn was always at the studio - either playing games in the background or just hanging out in general. Now they would only see him when he was scheduled to film something, and even then, there was a strange sort of tension between him and Sohinki. Joven had no idea what that was about, but he wished things could just go back to the way they were. It was as though every familiarity he had was crumbling around him and all he could do was sit back and watch.

"Are you still moping around over there?" Sohinki turned in his chair to address Joven, jarring him out of his thoughts.

"What? Why would I be moping?" Joven furrowed his brows. "I was just checking my e-mail. Nothing interesting."

"Huh. I thought maybe Lasercorn would've sent you something."

"Why would he do that? He could just text me," Joven spared one final glance at his screen before preparing to close it - only to have something catch his eye. It was a message from the Smosh account. His mouse hovered over it just to make sure it wasn't a figment of his imagination.

"You sure he could spare the time between making out with Ian to shoot you a text?" Sohinki grunted bitterly.

"Do you have a thing for him or something? Because that sounds an _awful _lot like jealousy."

"What? No way!"

"A little defensive there, Sohinki," Joven smirked. "Don't tell me you're gonna be the next one embarrassing themselves on 'Why We're Single'..."

Sohinki looked as though he was about to say something before he got red faced and turned back to his computer screen, "You're an idiot."

"So it's been said. Multiple times, in fact. I even tend to agree." He remarked in self-deprecating humor before sobering. "Seriously, though. What happened between the two of you? Everything's been weird since he started dating Ian. I wouldn't think that'd be enough to change him..."

"Yeah, well, you never know what's gonna happen until it happens. He's the one with an issue. Not me," Sohinki shrugged it off dismissively and quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, you should stop sulking around and check out this game. I'm thinking we should play it in an episode of 'Backseat Gaming.'"

"For the last time, I'm not sulking," Joven grumbled.

"Sure looks like sulking. Sure _sounds_ like sulking."

Joven took a sheet of paper, crumpling it up and tossing it at Sohinki's head - only to miss wildly. "Shut it."

"Not until you drag your chair over here and check this game out. You have to move anyway to pick up the paper you threw."

He rolled his eyes, "Hang on. I wanna read something first..."

"You know if you keep doing this to yourself, you're never gonna get over her," Sohinki didn't pry his attention away from his monitor for a second, blasting his way through his enemies. "It's for the best if you just step away from the fan questions and put your focus into other things. I might give you a hard time, but I do wanna see you happy, Joven."

Joven furrowed his brows, "This has nothing to do with Mari, but thanks for your concern. It's from Anthony, actually. Something about a convention over in Vegas that Smosh is supposed to do a panel at, yaddayaddayadda, Ian can't make it - so he thought one of us could go with him to represent Smosh Games. Huh."

"Oh, cool. I could go for a night out in Vegas."

"Hey, hold on. He sent the e-mail to ME. Why should _you _be the one who goes?"

"Uh...because I'm the best, _obviously_," Sohinki fixed his collar. He grinned when Joven finally got up and joined him. "But actually, you know what? You're right. You should be the one who goes. You've had a crappy few weeks. You deserve it."

"You act like I'm wallowing in despair," he settled beside his friend. "I'm fine. I'd be even more fine if you stop bringing up how miserable I'm supposed to be. Now c'mon. Don't you have a game to show me?"

Sohinki regarded Joven for a moment, looking as though he was about to say something again - but he clamped his mouth shut and nodded. Joven arched a brow, wondering why Sohinki kept clamming up. First on the subject of Lasercorn, now on the subject of, well, he didn't even know. He shrugged it off, though. Joven had enough changes lately, he couldn't deal with losing Sohinki, too. So he shut up and focused on the game, thinking to himself that maybe it would be a good idea to seek out his own change in life. He wasn't sure when, and he wasn't sure what - but maybe a change of pace would get him out of the perpetual rut he was trapped in. It was worth a try.

And that try started with accompanying Anthony to Vegas.

* * *

Lasercorn sat on the sidelines, watching Anthony and Ian film a scene for their latest Smosh video. He held an unopened bottle of water in his hands, and his only instruction was to toss it to Ian when they got to the cue. As much as he adored spending time with Ian and Anthony, the whole thing was boring. Lasercorn wasn't the type of guy who could sit patiently without having something to occupy himself - moreover, some kind of gaming controls beneath his fingertips. But what could he do? To go hang out with Joven and Sohinki meant actually facing Sohinki...and fuck that. Fuck Sohinki. It was totally not cool for him to let Joven go ahead with the bet knowing full well he never stood a chance with Mari because Sohinki had secretly got there first.

It was difficult to face both of them having this knowledge - so Lasercorn extricated himself and occupied his time being the waterboy for Ian, or whatever other menial thing they needed. He supposed it was nice to be helpful to them, but they weren't trusting him with any of the bigger tasks, and he felt more that they were simply humoring him because he was their friend (or in Ian's case..._boy_friend.)

Still as soon as Ian said his line, Lasercorn tossed the bottle in his direction and the filming went on. At least he wasn't Joven. He was sure it would have taken several takes and Ian being pelted a couple of times before they got it right. But for as many faults and failings Joven had, Lasercorn really did want to see him happy. He just wasn't sure what he could possibly do to make that happiness a reality. All he held in his hands was the key to making Joven even more miserable, and the keys to his car because he was pretty sure Ian and Anthony were going to be finishing soon.

Lasercorn's assumption was right as only a few minutes later, the crew called it a wrap and the group dispersed. Ian approached him, and Lasercorn smiled, tilting his head up to meet the kiss he was greeted with. Ian sank onto the seat next to him, planting his hand on his knee and giving it a pat, "You know I appreciate you coming out here and helping us..."

"There's a but coming. I can sense the but. What's the but?"

"_But_ you look so bored. I don't want you to feel obligated to be here just because we're dating. I mean, you can and totally should spend time with the guys back at Smosh Games HQ. You seemed happier there."

"Things have changed, Ian. Either place I go, I'm not happy," he paused, realizing what he just said. "I mean, not that I'm not happy here. I love spending time with you and throwing water bottles to you - and OKAY. Yeah, I'm bored out of my mind. But I just can't find it in me to face the mess back at the office."

Ian uncapped his water, draining a bit, "You mean with Mari and Joven?"

Lasercorn looked at him. He hadn't told Ian he walked in on Sohinki and Mari kissing if only because he knew Ian would tell Anthony and then it would be even worse if everyone knew EXCEPT Joven. But he was tempted to say it now - to blurt everything out and get some advice because he had been bottling it inside for so long. In the end, though, he held his silence. "Yeah...that."

"You don't have to feel responsible for that, Lasercorn. Joven's a big boy. He could've turned the bet down if he wanted. If anything, you being there would probably be a big help in returning things to normal. I mean, what? Not only did he lose Mari, but he also lost you being there?"

Lasercorn frowned, "Damnit, Ian. Why do you have to be right all the time?"

"I don't know. One of my many talents - emphasis on the _many_," Ian wiggled his eyebrows and sensually licked his lips causing Lasercorn to roll his eyes with a smile and push him away.

"Asshole." He stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I just wish there was something I could do. Maybe I could find someone for him to go out on a date with - or just something to get his mind off of things. Even if nothing comes of it, it'd be a nice distraction to get him on the right path to normalcy."

Just then, Anthony's voice rang clear over all the other chatter. He was talking to one of the crew members with a beer in hand, and although he had makeup on to hide most of his fatigue and stress from the camera - there was something exhausted and weary about his eyes, "I just don't know how she could look me in the eye and say she wants to see other people. I proposed to her. We were planning our wedding together. How could she just uproot her life when she'd agreed to spend the rest of it with me?"

Lasercorn stared at Anthony as an idea formulated its way into his mind.. He turned to Ian, and before he could even say anything, Ian must have read his thoughts because he shook his head, "No."

"C'mon. Don't you think they get along great? It'd be a good distraction for the both of them - a rebound to pick themselves back up and start over again."

"Does Joven even _like _guys that way?"

"He could?" Lasercorn answered uncertainly, scratching behind his ear. The truth was he had no idea. "It's worth a try! What's the worst that could happen? They just hang out as friends? They become closer as buddies? C'mon, Ian. Help me smoosh them together, pleeeease?" He rested his chin on Ian's shoulder and gave him puppy eyes until he gave in. "Pretty pleeeease? Pretty please with a cherry on top? Pretty please with YOU on top?"

"Alright, _alright_. Fine. You win."

He reached out and wrapped his arms around Ian's shoulders, "You're the best!" Lasercorn drew back and clapped his hands, rubbing them together deviously, "Alright. Let Operation Jovanthony commence."

To be honest, he didn't really expect anything to come of it. But if Lasercorn could succeed in getting two guys who were having a rough time to hang out and feel better about themselves, then he would consider it a win. If nothing else, it was worth a shot.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: Yaaay it's an update! And holy crap, guys! The fact that so many of you read this and left comments meant the WORLD to me. I just...dokidoki, I love you guys. Thank you! I'm going to confess something right here: I have the hugest crush on Melanie. But I ship Iancorn, soo this creates problems. I would just insert myself into stories so I can live happily ever after with her, but that would probably be weird :P. So I'm actually hoping to introduce Melanie into this story, not as any kind of catalyst to break Ian and David up, but as a character who is moving on...and maaaaybe just maybe dates Joven a few times before the Jovanthony comes in to play. idk, what do you guys think? Jovelanie - yay or nay? Anyway, thanks for reading and hope you like the chapter! Sorry for the sporadic as hell updates._

* * *

Joven found it strange to get a text message from Lasercorn inviting him out to dinner one night. It seemed so out of the blue and random. But then again, there was no way he could refuse. It had been far too long since he hung out with Lasercorn alone, and if anyone knew what he was going through, even a little bit, it was Lasercorn. After all, it took a lot of struggling for him to eventually land Ian.

So he got the address to the restaurant and was told to dress in something that didn't make him look like a hobo. What did that even mean? Joven stood in front of his closet for about twenty minutes, trying to figure out what his least hobo-like outfit was - and he settled for a loose, navy blue, button-down shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. As he went into the bathroom and did his best to spike up the overgrown jovenhawk, Joven knew deep down this wasn't just about hanging out with Lasercorn. The invitation seemed far too deliberate for that. Was it a set up? Were he and Ian fixing him up on a blind date?

Joven frowned at the prospect, but made sure to dowse himself in cologne. No matter who she was, she wouldn't compare to Mari - but that was no reason why he needed to smell like a hobo. He had already put so much effort into not looking like one!

He knew it was probably stupid to head out right on time to make it by Lasercorn's appointed time of seven. Lasercorn was never on time for anything, and that was the only thing he was consistent in. But Joven was the opposite and tended to be prompt, so even knowing he would be standing around waiting like an idiot, he couldn't help himself from getting into his car and leaving a few minutes early.

Traffic wasn't all that bad for a Friday night, and even the extra few minutes Joven thought he would spend stuck behind slow-moving vehicles didn't seem to happen. Before he knew it, he was at the restaurant even earlier than anticipated. He gave a quick glance around and just as he suspected, Lasercorn's car was no where to be seen. Frowning, Joven leaned back against his seat, pulling out his phone. He went through his address book and lingered on Mari's name.

There was a point in time when he would be checking his phone obsessively for messages from her, but now messages and calls between them were just sad reminders of what he never and could never have. Joven tried to force it out of his mind, though. Any time he gave it real thought, it depressed him. So he went to scroll past her name and accidentally hit call. He cursed, having a mental debate over whether he should hang up now or not. Unfortunately, he didn't decide in time and it was too late when she answered.

"Jovie! Hey! What's up?" Mari's voice was crushingly cheerful.

"Mari, hey. Not much. What about you?"

"Ditto. I was just watching some anime right now. You'd probably like this one. Lots of chicks and lots of boobs flying everywhere."

He laughed faintly, "Nice to know you still think I'm every bit as much of a creep as always."

"It's your trait, right?"

"Not a trait I want to be known for!"

"Anyway, what's up? Did you need something?"

Joshua frowned. Was it really that obvious he no longer called for the simple pleasure of hearing her voice? He hesitated before blurting out the first work-related question he could think of, even if he already knew the answer to it, "Oh, I was just wondering if you heard anything about the next GT Smosh. Like when we're filming it and stuff. I have things I want to do, and I didn't know what day to do them."

"Umm. Tuesday, I think? Hang on, let me check..." Joven heard her rustle around with something before she responded. "Yeah. Tuesday at around six-ish. Those were Lasercorn's words exactly. So I think it'll be more like seven."

"Of course, of course. I'm actually supposed to be meeting him for dinner right now. And naturally, it's a few minutes past the meeting time and he's no where to be found."

"Lasercorn will always be Lasercorn..." she commented in amusement.

"And we wouldn't want him any other way." Except maybe around a little bit more. But Joven held his tongue. "Anyway, I'll let you go. It was nice talking to you and stuff."

"You should call me more, Jovie. I really do miss talking to you."

The comment sent a sharp pang of sadness jolting through him, and he nodded - realizing she couldn't see him but unable to find his voice for a few seconds. "Y-yeah. I miss it, too."

"Sorry, that was insensitive of me to say, wasn't it? You take all the time you need to, as long as things eventually return to the way they once were..."

The second comment was even worse. Joven had tried his best to put up the front of everything being okay. It sucked to know it wasn't working. He made a noise that he wasn't even sure he knew what it meant before ending the call. That was probably about the worst thing he could have done - not saying goodbye. He was tempted to call her back just to end the conversation on a proper note, but that would probably make things even more awkward. So in the meantime, he shot Lasercorn a text and continued to wait.

After a couple of minutes he got a reply: sry traffic :(

Joven rolled his eyes, half tempted to tell him he should have left earlier to avoid it AND yell at him for texting while driving, but he caught something out of the corner of his eye that drew his attention. Sitting outside on the curb by himself, looking sharp-dressed as always, was Anthony. Joven was sure it was Anthony. He might have been a little on the blind side, but Anthony was pretty unmistakable. Since he seemed to be waiting for someone himself (probably Kalel), Joven thought it would be nice to kill the time together. It sure beat waiting around separately and arguing with Lasercorn through text messages.

He got out of his car, locking it up before wandering over in Anthony's direction. Anthony was so busy with his phone that he didn't notice Joven until he was standing before him, grinning, "Hey, Anthony. What're you doing here?"

Anthony looked up quickly, "Oh...I was just waiting for Ian. He said he wanted to meet me out here. Had something Smosh related to talk about - what're you doing here?"

"...Lasercorn wanted to meet up and hang out. I thought he was coming alone, though. What's Ian's status?"

He glanced at his phone again, "Last I heard...traffic."

Joven nodded, "So they're coming together..."

"Do they do anything apart? Seriously, I wonder if they help each other wipe their ass sometimes," Anthony rolled his eyes.

"It's the honeymoon phase. That's what I keep telling myself. Lasercorn'll be back to hanging around HQ in no time. I mean, you were probably the same way with Kalel at first, right?"

A shadow passed over Anthony's face, "Can we not talk about her, please?"

Joven was surprised, biting his lip and looking down, "Sorry."

There was a moment of silence before Anthony sighed, "No. I'm sorry. You wouldn't know. It's a sore subject because she kind of broke up with me a few days ago. I understand she wants to start school and do something amazing with her life. I get that she felt she was investing too much time into our relationship, but isn't that something you think about _before _you say yes to marrying someone?"

"Maybe. But isn't it better you found out now than after you two got married? And who knows. You might work things out still."

"You think so?" There was a hopeful note in Anthony's voice.

"If it's meant to be, it will be..." Joven offered a reassuring smile.

"Thanks..." there was a pause. "I'm sorry about what happened with you and Mari."

"Hey, it's just one of those embarrassing things that happens," Joven shrugged dismissively. "I'm fine. Mari's happy, and that's what matters. Any clue who her mystery boyfriend is? Is it someone we know?"

Anthony shook his head unknowingly, "Not that I know of. She's being weirdly secretive about it. Maybe he's ugly." He laughed at his own joke, but when he saw it only seemed to make Joven frown deeper and feel worse about himself, he cleared his throat. "Sorry. I'll just call Ian and see if they're gonna be here soon."

Joven nodded, drawing his knees to his chest. He listened to Anthony's one-sided conversation until it ended fairly quick. "What'd he say?"

"He said we should get a table and wait for them inside. That it might take a while because there was an accident."

"Of course," Joven rolled his eyes. "I always tell Lasercorn if he would just leave early, he could avoid stuff like that. Traffic was close to perfect for me." He got up, dusting his hands off on his pants before mockingly offering his arm to Anthony. "Shall we?"

Anthony pressed his fingers to his lips and girlishly batted his eyelashes, "Oh, Joven. Such a gentleman." He looped his arm around Joven's and they made their way to the restaurant's entrance.

When they got inside, they separated, going up to the front server and requesting a table for four. After about a fifteen minute wait, they were seated. Joven and Anthony sat across from each other in the booth, leaving an empty space toward the outside for Ian and Lasercorn whenever they arrived. Joven grabbed his menu, eyeing the list of foods before glancing up at Anthony.

"Should we order an appetizer while we wait or something?"

"Yeah, that'd be good. Wanna get something and split it? Or should we get something separate."

"That all depends. You're vegan, right?"

"...was vegan. And not even wholly vegan," Anthony furrowed his brows. "I mostly did it to support Kalel, so I don't really think there's much point to that anymore, right?"

Joven wanted to be sympathetic and say something nice, but as his stomach growled, he blurted out in relief, "Good, because I reeeeeally wanted the buffalo wings."

Anthony smiled and laughed, and it caught Joven's eye. For some reason, he never noticed how Anthony's smile lit up his whole face or the way his nose scrunched up and eyes crinkled when he laughed. He was drawn to it and couldn't stop staring at him, pretty sure he was wearing a dumb smile of his own. Joven only snapped out of it when their waitress came to the table and welcomed them.

"I'll be your server today. My name is Melanie-" her voice cut off abruptly. "Anthony? Joshua?" Dread filled her voice. "Ian's not here, is he?"

Anthony's eyes went wide and he exchanged a glance with Joven before clearing his throat, "Um...no. No, he's not. Psh, I don't know why they gave us all these extra menus, but he's not here. No. Um...so wow! It's been a while, Mel. What's up? Why're you here?"

She released a breath of relief, "Oh thank god. I totally wasn't ready to see him yet. Not like this. And I'm just trying to make ends meet. I have a lot of projects going on, but you know - California and all. Apartments are expensive. I needed a steady income to help tide me over until I can commission more of my art work."

"Well, you look good. Right, Joven?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. You do..." he stuttered out of his daze of checking her out. Joven had seen Melanie before, sure. But he never got such an up close and personal look at her long, slender legs.

A grin broke on her face, transforming her features into something radiant, "Aww. Thanks, you guys. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"I don't know about Joven, but I want some wine..."

"Wine sounds good."

"How about a bottle of Pinot Noir and some water?" Anthony pointed it out on the menu.

Melanie jotted it down on a little notepad. "Sounds good. I'll bring it right out and take these extra menus while I'm at it. You wanna put in an appetizer, too? Or just wait until I come back to order the meals?"

Joven opened his mouth to order the chicken wings, only to be silenced by Anthony raising his hand. "No thanks. We'll just look over the menu in the meantime. Thanks, Mel."

She headed off and Joven arched a brow, "I thought we decided on wings."

"Dude, you can get the wings, but we have a more serious problem. Did you forget about Ian and Lasercorn coming here right now?"

"...yeah, kinda."

"Alright, think! I guess the only thing we can tell them is not to come, right?"

"But doesn't Ian have something important to talk to you about?"

"It can wait. It can't be as important as avoiding disaster. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like chowing down on someone else's spit tonight."

"...wellll if it's Melanie's, I don't see where it would be THAT bad..."

"_Dude!_" Anthony shook his head. "Just call Lasercorn and let him know what's up. I'll talk to Ian."

"Fiiiine," Joven speed-dialed Lasercorn's number, pressing the phone to his ear and waiting.

* * *

Lasercorn smirked when his phone rang, kicking his legs up on the coffee table at Ian's place and leaning against his boyfriend's chest. He grabbed the remote, muting the tv before picking up the phone, "Yo, Joven! Sorry it's taking so long. There's apparently a shitton of debris on the road they gotta clean up."

"No, it's fine. You guys probably shouldn't come tonight anyway..." his friend replied.

"What?" Lasercorn looked up at Ian and mock-pouted. "Oh no. But I want to!"

"Melanie's working here, dude. Not to mention she's our waitress, so having you guys here to rub your relationship in her face probably wouldn't be in anyone's best interest."

He sighed, long and lingering. "No, I suppose you're right. But I was really looking forward to it. We're definitely gonna have to reschedule!"

"Yeah..." there was a pause before Joven's voice became sincere. "I miss you, Lasercorn. Come back soon..."

Everything up until that point had been fun and games. But when Joven uttered those words, a lance of guilt ran through him. Lasercorn frowned, not sure how to respond. Should he really give a promise he couldn't keep? Or keep a promise he didn't want to give? After a few seconds, he mumbled. "...I will. I'll stop by the office tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright."

"Have fun with Anthony. Tell him I'm sorry I couldn't make it."

"I will."

"Bye," and Lasercorn hung up, staring at the phone.

Ian canted his head in curiosity, "Is everything okay?"

This drew him out of his thoughts, "Oh yeah. It's great. Everything is moving according to plan, and it's all going even better than expected. Maaaaybe we won't really have to intervene all that much at all." Lasercorn grinned. "C'mon. Tell me I'm awesome."

Ian bit his lip and then flipped their positions suddenly so he could hover on top of him, "You are the most awesome at pretty much anything you set your mind to." He lowered so his lips could graze Lasercorn's until the blaring of Ian's ringtone rose up between them. Ian dug his phone out of his pocket, allowing them both to see the call was from Anthony. He hit ignore and then tossed it onto the table, closing in to meet Lasercorn's lips for a passionate kiss.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Notes: Oh wow. This seems so unfamiliar. HI, GUYS. I'm back...kind of. And so far behind. So many awesome authors' fanfic chapters to read and catch up on. And write. Oh boy do I have to write. I am quitting my job this Friday, so while I'll still have the play going on, at least my afternoons will be free. Hopefully I can sneak a few updates in between now and July! Anyway, I'm just updating this right before bed, so I apologize for the mistakes. Thanks to everyone for reading so far! And I'm so sorry this update took so long._

* * *

When it came to drinking, Joven knew his limits. He knew as long as he had to drive, he could only have two glasses of wine, carefully sipped throughout the meal with plenty of water sprinkled in between. Anthony, however, didn't have that same knowledge. He apparently looked at the bottle of wine and thought it was a shame to let it go to waste, so when he wasn't trying to top Joven's glass off, he was progressing through the alcohol at an alarmingly fast rate, and by the time the meal ended - Anthony was trashed.

Joven paid for their dinner and then requested Melanie's help in getting Anthony to his car because there was no way he was letting Anthony get behind the wheel of his own - no matter how much his friend insisted that he was fine (the fact that he was slurring those words was not working to his favor). Melanie agreed since she was about to take her fifteen minute break anyway, so together they took a side and walked Anthony out to the parking lot.

He led the way to his car, reaching out his arm to open up the passenger's side before puzzling over the situation, "So how do we get him in?"

"You get his arms and I get his legs?" Melanie suggested with an upraised brow.

"Guys, I'm _fine. _I can do it myself," Anthony insisted. And when they listened to him and let him go, he fell straight on the ground with a muffled grunt. "I'm okay." Immediately afterward, he snorted a laugh.

Joven rolled his eyes, "Great. I get the joy of babysitting him all night."

"As soon as you get him laying down, he'll pass right out. He always did whenever he got drunk with Ian," Melanie assured, repositioning herself in order to take Anthony's legs.

Joven followed her lead, hoisting up Anthony's torso in order ease him into the passenger seat. It was a lot more difficult than it looked, and by the time they managed to get him strapped in with the seatbelt and everything, they stood up at about the same time - nearly bumping into each other and coming ridiculously close to being face to face. Joven lingered there for a second before he colored and put a bit of distance between them, mumbling an apology.

Melanie laughed, waving it off. "You're fine. It's fine."

If there was one thing Joven discovered about himself tonight, it was that he was drawn to people's smiles. Seeing her able to smile like that even after all she had gone through showed a real strength of character, and before Joven could even stop himself, he was blurting out: "Ian was an idiot to leave a beautiful girl like you."

She blinked in surprise, arching a brow before a hint of color reached her cheeks and she tucked a few blonde strands behind her ears in embarrassment. "Well, thank you." Then she lapsed into a fake southern drawl. "You're not so bad on the eyes yourself there, Jovenshire."

"It didn't do me a whole lot of good with Mari..."

"Well, Mari's..." Melanie began and then looked as though she had just been about to divulge something top secret. Her hands came up to her lips and she shook her head. "Nevermind."

"No, wait. You can't do that!" Joven protested. "The word 'nevermind' just means I want to mind. I HAVE to mind now. Tell me!" And then realization dawned. "You know who her super secret boyfriend is, don't you?"

She grimaced, "I know, I know. I'm sorry. But I'm sworn to secrecy. You know, _pinky sworn_. So there's no way I could break my vow. Not when I have such cute pinkies." Melanie held up her hands, wiggling her little fingers at him.

"You won't distract me with your cute fingers," Joven shook his head in determination. "For your crimes, the penalty is gonna be coffee. And that coffee is gonna be with me, so you have one last chance to redeem yourself and tell me or suffer the consequences."

Melanie appeared to debate it, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "You know...I guess I'm just gonna have to accept my punishment." She pulled out her phone. "Give me the digits, Ovenshire."

Joven honestly couldn't believe that worked, but he spewed his number regardless, watching as she plugged it in before grinning. "Got it. Be forewarned, though. I tend to bombard those on my contact list with lots of weird texts at weird times in the morning."

"I think I'm prepared."

She sighed and glanced down at her watch, "Well, I better get back inside. Break's almost over."

"Right. And I better make sure Anthony doesn't choke on his vomit otherwise I'm probably gonna be out of a job."

She laughed, "Nevermind the fact that it's the humane thing to do."

They paused, and there was that awkward moment where neither knew whether this was a hug moment, a kiss moment, or just a moment where you said 'see ya' and walked away. Melanie was the one to make the first move, though, stepping closer and pressing her lips against Joven's cheek before stepping back with an illuminating smile and skipping away toward the restaurant energetically. Joven watched her go, practically in awe that someone so pretty actually seemed to be...remotely interested in him. Maybe not landing Mari was a good thing. Maybe Ian and Lasercorn not making dinner was also a good thing. And maybe now, things could start to look up.

Joven got in the car, smiling over at Anthony. It didn't matter that he was drunk and semi-conscious. Joven had to share the good news, "Soooo, I think I just maybe landed a date with an extraordinarily hot girl."

Anthony shifted a bit, not bothering to open his eyes as he mumbled lazily, "'m not a girl."

Laughing, Joven started the car, "But you look so damn cute in those dresses of shame."

Anthony mumbled something incoherent, lolling his head back toward the window. Joven regarded him in mild amusement before putting his focus back on the road. He did reach one hand over to pat Anthony's head.

"There, there. Sleep off the worst of your drunkenness."

When Anthony didn't answer, Joven assumed it was because he was taking his advice. He looked over and saw Anthony with his eyes closed and lips parted. It was only when he looked over that he realized he had stopped patting Anthony's head and started stroking his hair soothingly. Joven reared his hand back as though he was touching something diseased - returning it to the steering wheel. But his fingers tingled, not forgetting the softness of Anthony's hair - and that was something that weirded him out a little. Finally, he rationalized it was fine to appreciate soft hair - whether it belonged to a man or a woman.

Joven pulled into the driveway of his house, parking there for a second before looking over at Anthony with a sigh, "Alright. The real challenge becomes getting you out of the car."

He got out, heading over to Anthony's door and opening it. Joven reached over, unclicking Anthony's seatbelt before feeling his body practically fall out of the car. He struggled to catch him quick before dragging him onto the pavement, adjusting Anthony in his arms so he could carry him over his shoulder. Joven did his best to get Anthony inside without bumping him too much (he was sure Anthony was going to have a nice-sized knot on the side of his head, though, from where it accidentally collided with the door frame).

Joven got Anthony to the couch, laying him down there. He had just been about to straighten upright when Anthony's arms wrapped around him and dragged him down on top of him. Joven was surprised and looked up to see if Anthony was awake, but his eyes were still closed. Joven frowned and tried to dislodge himself from the weird situation. "Umm...okay. I'm not a teddy bear."

"Mmm, Kalel..." Anthony moaned out softly.

Joven went rigid, his eyes widened, "I'm not Kalel either!"

"Why did you leave me...?"

Joven's shock became sympathy. Anthony looked so sad and unguarded - so vulnerable that it was impossible not to feel sorry for him. He reached up, brushing Anthony's bangs away before murmuring gently, "It's not your fault, Anthony. Think positively. She might have left you now, but she also might come back. Or you could find someone even better."

Anthony's eyes opened and Joven offered him a smile. That was until Anthony reached up and dragged Joven's face to his, pressing a clumsy kiss against his lips. First, Joven was shocked. Anthony was kissing him. Legitimately kissing him! This wasn't some kind of joke. A mistake? Yeah, probably. But definitely not a joke. But the worst thing of all was that Joven didn't pull back. No wait, the worst thing of all was that he returned the kiss. He chalked it up to loneliness, the fact that it was nice to have someone's lips on his, and also the fact that he didn't want to hurt Anthony's feelings by rejecting him.

But after a few seconds, Joven realized he was probably hurting Anthony more by returning the kiss. It would make things weird if he remembered it when he was sober. Hell, things were already weird. He pulled back abruptly and put the equivalent of a high school dance floor between himself and Anthony, clearing his throat.

"You're drunk, Anthony. Let me get you a glass of water..."

"I don't want a glass of water. I want you." Anthony's tone was earnest, even though he was struggling to sit up.

"...now I know you're drunk. Hello. It's me. Joven. The nerdy guy with glasses, remember? So nerdy he went on King of the Nerds?"

"But not nerdy enough to win," Anthony grinned slowly. "I know who you are, and I still want to make out with you."

Joven's voice caught in his throat and he wasn't sure what to say. He searched the floor for something before he shook his head, "You're just looking for a rebound, Anthony. I'm not worth it. It's not worth messing up our friendship over. I'm not even...you're not gay."

"I'm a little bit gay..." Anthony smiled sheepishly with a shrug. "You don't think Lasercorn's Ian's first, do you?"

"...what? Really? You and Ian...?" Joven stepped forward, staring at him in surprise.

"We never came out. He was too embarrassed of me. And we both decided it'd be better for Smosh if we were straight, anyway. At least that's what I thought until I saw him and Lasercorn happen. So now, why should I be straight? If he's not gonna, I don't have to either!" Anthony pounded his fist against the couch cushion petulantly.

Joven shook his head with a soft laugh, "Well, no. No one's saying you have to be straight in the first place. But you probably shouldn't view it as getting even with Ian. That's not exactly healthy." He walked over, stopping just out of Anthony's reach. "You probably shouldn't be making any decisions right now. You could say something you'll regret in the morning. Let alone do something you'll definitely, DEFINITELY regret in the morning. Or do someone you'll regret..."

"You could use someone to help you forget about Mari for a while, couldn't you? You've been so sad, Jovie. Let me make you feel good..." Anthony strained to reach him, only to fall off the couch, hitting his head on the way down.

"Anthony!" Joven lunged forward and immediately scooped him into his arms. When Anthony seemed unconscious, Joven's eyes widened. "Anthony! Hey! Are you okay? Oh shit, oh shit...what do I do?"

Joven panicked for about another minute before Anthony started to laugh, opening one eye to peek up at him, "Aww, you DO care!" He wrapped his arms lazily around Joven's torso for a minute before his hand lowered to settle right on his crotch. Anthony smirked, rubbing the area through the fabric of Joven's jeans. "How about a friendly handjob, at least?"

To say he was relieved that Anthony hadn't hurt himself was an understatement, but that was completely muted by the fact that he had Anthony's hand on his crotch and he was proposing a handjob. Worst of all, Joven was slightly tempted to take him up on the offer, but he felt immediately disgusted with himself. Anthony was drunk. It would be wrong to take advantage of him here. So with a bit of reluctance, he grabbed Anthony's hand and pulled it away, shaking his head.

"No. I'm sorry, Anthony, but it's not a good idea. You're so drunk, you probably won't even remember it. And that would just make things even more awkward, wouldn't it? C'mere. I'll help you back on the couch, alright?" Joven carefully supported Anthony as he lifted him and guided him back to his bed for the night.

"You're too good to me, Joven. You're such a good guy. You're gonna find a good guy. Or girl. Preferably a guy. Preferably me."

Joven plastered on a forced smile, going into the kitchen to get Anthony the water and aspirin and returning a few seconds later, "Okay. Drink up, Anthony. You need your beauty rest."

Anthony accepted the pill and put it in his mouth, tilting the glass back and winding up spilling more on himself than anything, "I am pretty sexy, right?"

"The sexiest," Joven muttered sarcastically, pressing his hands to Anthony's shoulders and pushing him to lay down. "Now rest." He stood there for a few seconds to make sure Anthony didn't choke on his own vomit or something.

"Can I get a blanket?" Anthony requested in a small voice.

"...oh. Yeah. Of course. Hang on," Joven ran upstairs to get the blanket real quick before running back down and gently laying it over Anthony. "There you go. And that's my Batman blanket, so please try not to puke on it in the morning."

"I'll try not to..."

"You need anything else?"

"A story...?"

Joven rolled his eyes, "What are you, ten?"

"Indulge me. I'm drunk and miserable and you won't fuck me. The least you can do is read me a story..."

"I don't really have any stories," Joven frowned thoughtfully before he glanced over at his comic collection. He went over to the bookshelf and grabbed one at random before flipping it open to a page toward the middle. "Ooo. Oh yeah. Right there. Put your man meat right into my sloppy, wet-"

Anthony had fallen into snores before Josh could even finish the first page of the hentai. He smiled a little to himself, getting up and heading to the light to turn it out. Joven wasn't really sure what just happened that night, but the one saving grace was that he was pretty sure Anthony wasn't going to remember any of it in the morning. What he needed was some time upstairs, alone, to give himself his own friendly handjob and some sleep. So Joven tucked the hentai under his arm and rushed up to his room, sealing the door behind himself.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Notes: Can I say that my writer's block officially ended? One chapter update, one new story started, this chapter finished, two more chapters for other stories in the works...I am a writing machine. I do apologize that it's taken me so long to update this. I've been really busy lately and at the moment, I'm working two jobs. But hopefully I'll keep being on this writing streak and get another update out by next week. This is my strangest story because I actually don't have a general, overarching plan for it. I'm just pretty much writing as I go - so hopefully it flows together. And hopefully you enjoy it! Thank you all so much for the comments, favorites and follows. It means the world to me, and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. o/ Enjoy!_

* * *

Joven woke up the next morning to the musical sounds of Anthony retching in the bathroom. He sighed, covering his head with his pillow in an attempt to drown him out at first, but as a few minutes passed, he realized the damage was done. He wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep. Heaving a sigh, he tossed his covers off and threw on a robe, heading toward the bathroom where he heard Anthony trying to recover.

"Anthony?" Joven knocked twice to announce his presence before opening the door.

The taller member of Smosh was reduced to nothing but a whimpering mess on Joshua's bathroom floor. Anthony was the very definition of misery - hung over, throwing up, and emotionally beaten from the breakup. He was sobbing quietly into his arms on the toilet seat, and Joven frowned, moving forward to settle beside him - running his palm along Anthony's sweat-soaked back.

"Hey...don't do that. C'mon. You don't want anyone to see that..." Joven tried to comfort Anthony by first making him aware he wasn't alone.

"I threw up..." Anthony replied piteously. "And that vomit represents my life right now - flushed down the drain."

"Are you really gonna sit here and feel sorry for yourself?" Joven raised a brow.

Anthony wiped his eyes and looked at him, prompting him to continue.

"Look. When things happened with me and Mari, did I wallow in misery? Yes. A little bit in private. But I kept going to work. I kept facing her every day because it was beyond my control. If I stopped my life and felt sorry for myself, the only person that would hurt is me. Yeah, Mari might've had sympathy for me, but that wouldn't make her break up with her boyfriend and be with me. I'm about ninety-five percent sure of that. So you being so down and hard on yourself is sort of the same. Maybe Kalel will realize that leaving you was a dumb decision. But if she doesn't, you can't get yourself down like this."

Anthony sighed, averting his gaze. "I really thought she was the one, though."

"Forget all that 'the one' crap. There's no such thing. You had a good run. Think of the good times and move forward. Please? For me?"

"You're right, I guess. I know you're right. But it's hard. I keep feeling like I'm failing every relationship I've had. Sam, Ian, Kalel...they all broke up with me. So what am I doing wrong?"

"There's no right or wrong here, Anthony. If they didn't realize what they had in you, then that's their loss. And the person who's gonna appreciate you is still out there, waiting to meet you or waiting for the right opportunity to be with you." Joven offered a comforting smile.

Anthony fell silent for a long moment before he accepted Joven's words. "Thanks, man. You're too good to me."

"Hey." Joven dusted off his shoulder. "It's just how I do."

Anthony flushed the toilet and struggled to climb to his feet. Joven swept in to offer support which Anthony took gratefully. "We give you so much shit. I don't know how you can help us out so much when we need it. You're amazing."

"I'm not really that great..." Joven ducked his head in slight embarrassment, leading Anthony to the sink and offering him a bottle of mouthwash along with a disposable dixie cup.

"You are, though. You just have no idea because you can't see yourself through my eyes..." Anthony took the cup, meeting Joven's gaze.

They maintained eye contact for an uncomfortably long moment, and Joven felt his cheeks start to heat up. He looked away and listened to the sounds of Anthony gargling. As he stood this close to the taller member of Smosh, he thought about the night before - their kiss. Anthony hadn't said one way or the other if he remembered what happened. And Joven didn't know whether he should bring it up. Maybe it was one of those things that was better left unsaid. But how was it fair that he had to remember the way Anthony's lips felt against his and Anthony could easily forget?

Joven looked back at him slowly. "So, um...how much do you remember about last night?"

Anthony spit the mouthwash into the sink, rinsing it down. "To be honest, not much. Bits and pieces here and there. But nothing really after we paid our bill. Why?" His expression became one of dread. "Did I do something awful?"

"No. No, you were fine. Don't worry about it. Just wondered how far gone you were." Joven shrugged. "So do you wanna stick around here for a bit or you want me to drive you home?"

"You mind if I hang around for a little while? Just until my stomach settles. I'd rather not be on the road if I have to throw up again, ya know?"

"It's fine. Make yourself at home. Mi casa, su casa and all that. You need anything?"

Anthony shook his head slowly, following Joven out of the bathroom. "Just your company..." He offered a small smile.

"You got it. But I fully expect a promotion after this..." Joven smirked, and in that moment his phone went off. He grabbed it from his room and saw it was a text from Melanie.

_ I still think I have a penalty to pay up. I'm free for coffee tonight if you are._

Joven smiled to himself, able to forget the weirdness with Anthony for the time being. _The coffee penalty can be cashed in tonight. I'm still babysitting right now, but we can plan it later._

_ Sounds great :), _she responded.

"What's that smile about?" Anthony inquired.

"Oh. Just Melanie. She's gonna cash in on that first date she promised me..." Joven smiled, looking up from his phone at Anthony. "See. You can bear witness to the fact that I'm taking the first step to get over Mar-"

His voice trailed off because he saw the expression on Anthony's face turn into a dismayed grimace. Anthony seemed to be well aware that he was caught, and he held up his hands in front of himself, waving them. "Sorry. Don't mind me. I just got hit by another wave of nausea."

Joven studied him for a moment. He wasn't sure what he saw was an expression of nausea. But maybe his mind was just playing tricks on him and he was thinking there was something more than there was. Joven needed to accept that Anthony probably wouldn't have kissed him without practically a whole bottle of wine in him. He offered a sympathetic expression, putting his arm around Anthony's back.

"C'mon. Let's get you laying down..."

* * *

Joven dropped Anthony off at home early in the afternoon. In the meantime, he headed to the Smosh Games office to take care of a few things. After texting Melanie, they came up with the meeting time of seven o'clock which gave him plenty of time to get his work done. Sohinki was already there by the time he arrived, plugging away at some new game. He looked up over the screen, catching sight of Joven.

"Hey. You look like you're in a good mood."

"I am. You won't believe what happened to me." Joven grinned, pulling up a seat beside Sohinki.

Mari entered the room with a steaming cup of tea in her hands just in time to hear Joven. "Ooo. Ooo. What happened? Tell me!" She scrambled over to him.

"I..." Joven's mood crumbled a tiny bit when he saw her. He had liked Mari so much and for so long that it almost felt like a betrayal of sorts. Still, he pressed on under the weight of their curious stares. "I have a date tonight."

"A date? With who?" Lasercorn strolled into the conversation fashionably late and without warning - a typical Lasercorn entrance.

"Well, look who decided to show up." Sohinki apparently couldn't resist making a snide remark. "I was starting to wonder if you even worked here anymore. Or if your main job was sucking Ian's dick now."

"You sound pretty butthurt that I'm not sucking yours." Lasercorn smiled at him mockingly before returning his attention to Joven. "Anyway, continue, Joven. You were talking about a date. Who's it with? Anthony?"

"What?!" Joven stared at Lasercorn in horror. How could he have known what happened between them the night before? No. He couldn't know. He was just being an idiot. There was no need for Joven to work himself up over this. So he forced a laugh. "No. Anthony is pretty and all, but I'm actually going out with Melanie tonight."

"You and Melanie?" Mari brightened up. "Oh my god, Jovie. That's great! I could totally see you two together."

"Wow. Congrats, man. I didn't think you had it in you to pick up girls - considering how things turned out..." Sohinki teased.

But that tease seemed to cause something in Lasercorn to snap. Joven could only stand by in shock when Lasercorn reared back and punched Sohinki in the face. The mood changed drastically. Mari covered her face with her hands, and Sohinki was busy rubbing the blood away from his nose - demanding to know what the fuck that was about.

Lasercorn stepped closer, grabbing a fist full of Sohinki's shirt and shoving him against the wall. "Why don't you tell him, Matt? Why don't you tell him why things didn't work out between him and Mari? If you ask me, Joven's got a right to fucking know. You get on my case for not being around - but in the meantime, you're the scumbag who can't fess up to the fact that you're Mari's secret boyfriend!"

"What?" Joven felt all of his elation and happiness disappear after hearing those words. He spared a glance at Sohinki and Mari, and from the guilt on their faces - he knew it was true. He let out a shaky breath of disbelief, taking a step back. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Joven, I..." Sohinki began and then fought his way out of Lasercorn's grasp. "Get the fuck off of me!" He glared at Lasercorn before approaching Joven. His expression softened. "I tried to tell you, but I couldn't find the words."

"All of this time. All of your convincing and forcing me to do that public humiliation when you knew damn well what Mari was going to say if I confessed. You're the reason for all those goddamn e-mails. You're the reason I lost what I had with Mari. You're the reason I'm fucking miserable!" Joven accused.

"Joven, that's not fair..." Mari began, but Sohinki held up his hand to silence her.

"No, it is fair. He has every right to be pissed. But I had my reasons, Joven."

"Save it. I can't even stand to look at you right now." Joven shook his head in disgust, turning around and walking away.

He heard Mari and Sohinki call out his name in unison, but he didn't turn back around to hear anything else. To think it had been going on for so long under his nose, to think that the secret boyfriend who made Mari happy all this time was one of his supposed best friends. Wasn't there some sort of bro code? Something felt as though it had been violated here, and now he hadn't only lost Mari but Sohinki as well.

Joven heard the sound of footsteps rushing up behind him, and he didn't have to turn to know it was Lasercorn. "Leave me alone."

"Look, man. I'm sorry you had to find out that way. It's been pissing me off for a long time, and I couldn't keep it in anymore..."

Joven stopped, frowning. "You knew all this time and you didn't tell me either?"

"I wanted to. Believe me, I wanted to. But I thought it'd be worse coming from me. I wanted to give Sohinki a chance to explain it himself, but he never did. So I just stopped being able to stand being around him. It really was shitty of him to do that to you. But just use that anger you have right now and turn it into the best date you possibly can with Melanie. You deserve that much..." Lasercorn offered a sympathetic smile.

"Melanie..." Joven almost forgot about her. He was in no mood to go out with her now - not feeling the way he did. She knew about Mari and Matt, too. Everyone was keeping secrets from him. "Let me guess - you blabbed this all to Ian, didn't you?"

"Actually, no. Believe it or not, just because I'm dating Ian doesn't mean I'm gonna go ahead and tell him everything. That was something I kept to myself and it was killing me to do it. Couldn't hold back that punch anymore. I just couldn't do it. Maybe you should go punch him, too. It'll make you feel better. It'd be pretty cathartic."

Joven shook his head in defeat. "No. I'm just gonna go. I need to go somewhere to clear my head. I'll see you around."

Joven walked out as a broken man. His three best friends were keeping the biggest secret of all from him and apparently had no intention of even letting him know. When was he going to find out? When he got the wedding invitation to Mari's and Sohinki's wedding? And even then - would they scratch out the name of the groom and have him find out when Sohinki walked down the aisle?

Joven got to his car and sat in the driver's seat, turning it on and letting the engine hum. He stared at the dashboard until it blurred from tears, and then he started hitting the steering wheel with his hands, mumbling how he was such an idiot over and over again until his palms and fingers were bruised and aching. He pulled off his glasses to wipe the tears from his eyes and clean off his lenses with his shirt before he took a deep breath to calm down - at least enough to drive off into LA traffic.

He didn't know what to do with himself, but he knew he couldn't be alone. He didn't want to be around Melanie or Lasercorn because he felt as though they had violated his trust by not telling him sooner. Ian apparently didn't know. So that also meant...

Joven pulled into the parking lot of Anthony's apartment complex. True, things were a bit strange between him and Anthony right now, but it was far better than his alternatives. He sat there for a moment before he got out, not sure what he was going to do or say when he saw Anthony - but knowing that his company was better than no company at all.

He climbed the stairs, reaching the door he had just dropped Anthony off at earlier before he knocked. It took a few minutes before he heard moving around and locks being undone. Anthony appeared, wearing only his boxers and looking disheveled and disoriented. He rubbed his eyes and blinked in confusion.

"Joven? What're you doing here? Did you forget some-"

Anthony never finished the words because Joven didn't let him. He didn't know what compelled him, but as soon as Anthony appeared, Joven reached out for his cheeks and dragged him down into a kiss. Anthony let out a muffled sound of surprise, but slowly returned it. Without breaking the kiss, they walked back into Anthony's apartment, the door slamming shut behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay in updating! This is my first full day off in a very long time, haha. But now I have my weekends back so I should be able to write more. Not promising I'll update this as frequently as my other stories, but I'll try! Anyway, hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Joven and Anthony, overcome by the mutual misery of their situations, allowed things to get a little out of hand. The kiss turned into a heavy makeout session which turned into mutual handjobs on Anthony's couch. After the sexual high faded, though, Joven was left with a weird feeling of guilt and regret. It could have been a lot worse. They could have gone all the way. But even this felt wrong.

After cleaning up, Joven sat in uncomfortable silence - waiting for Anthony to return with the coffee he promised. This day had gone through so many twists and turns and ups and downs that Joven was still reeling from it all. He pulled out his phone and saw he had several texts from Mari, Sohinki, and Lasercorn, but he didn't even bother to read them - going to his conversation with Melanie and sending her a quick message that he needed to cancel for tonight. Joven was in no condition to face her - especially not after what just happened with Anthony.

When Anthony reemerged, Joven had a hard time meeting his eyes, drawing his hand back when Anthony's fingers brushed his upon giving him the coffee. He blew the steam away from the surface and took a sip, mumbling his appreciation.

"So, um...why did you come back here? I mean, I'm pretty sure that whole thing wasn't part of your plan..." Anthony sat beside Joven, keeping a few feet of distance between them. "Right?"

Joven sighed. "Right. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry, Anthony. It was a mistake. I shouldn't have...you're in a very vulnerable place right now, and I shouldn't have-"

"Dude. It's okay. It was just a handjob. No big deal. Guys do that with each other all the time. We just gave each other a helping hand and that's all. Ian and I used to do it all the time after school."

"Yeah, but then you two wound up being a thing..."

"_Trying_ to be a thing. Ian was in the closet, remember? It's a shame, though. If he was out like he is with Lasercorn, I really think me and him would've been a strong couple." Anthony couldn't hide a slight hint of resentment in his tone no matter how much he attempted to.

"I don't know. I don't think you would - if you don't mind me saying it. You're too strong as friends. Your bond is too deep and a romantic relationship would ruin it. It's better the way it is. No one can touch what you have with Ian. Not even Lasercorn. And all of that would've been tainted if you threw all the complicated emotions of a relationship into the mix."

"You're probably right. I would've thought you were right if Kalel still wanted me. I was convinced she was my soulmate and that's the reason Ian and I didn't work out."

"You're Anthony Padilla. Who doesn't want you? Hell, even I couldn't resist you..." Joven scratched the side of his cheek sheepishly.

Anthony smiled faintly, shaking his head. "I really needed to hear that. So thanks, Joven. But enough about me and my problems. You've had a day and a half to hear all about them. Let me help you out. What's wrong?"

Joven set his coffee down and heaved a sigh. "Well, I found out that Mari's secret boyfriend is Sohinki, and apparently Lasercorn knew about it. So did Melanie, actually."

"What? Seriously? That's pretty fucked up that they wouldn't tell you."

"Yeah. Tell me about it. Apparently Sohinki had some reason, but I couldn't stick around long enough to listen to it. It hurt too much, you know? And I don't even know what's worse. The fact that her boyfriend is him or the fact that they're supposed to be some of my best friends and they didn't tell me about it."

"If it's any consolation, I doubt it was malicious. They didn't tell you because they didn't want to hurt you."

"Maybe. But what they failed to realize is that by not telling me - that hurts me even more."

Joven felt the weight on the couch shift as Anthony settled closer, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it when Anthony's hand rested lightly on his shoulder. Knowing where that hand had been not even twenty minutes ago really bugged him out - but Joven didn't pull away. He let Anthony have the pretense of comforting him.

"If I knew, I would've told you, you know. I'm pretty bad at keeping big secrets anyway. Especially ones like that." Anthony offered.

Joven wore a faint smile, looking toward him. "I appreciate that."

Anthony smiled back. They sank into silence for a moment before Anthony removed his hand from Joven's shoulder. "So, um...I know there's probably this whole unspoken thing where you don't want to talk about what just happened between us. And I'm cool if you want to forget it ever happened. But I'm also cool if you want to keep doing it. Just wanted to throw that out there."

"I..." Joven felt himself panic. Obviously, he enjoyed what he did with Anthony otherwise he wouldn't have done it. But would it change things completely between them? "Are you sure that wouldn't make things weird?"

Anthony shrugged. "Only if you let it. It's all up to you, Joven."

"I don't know, Anthony. I'm sorry, I'm just really confused. I don't want to say yes and mean no or no and mean yes. It's a lot to think about."

"So stop thinking about it." Anthony got up and then walked in front of Joven, slowly settling on his knees.

Even though Joven had just gotten a handjob, he couldn't help but start to get excited at the prospect of what Anthony was about to do.

Seductive amusement sparked in Anthony's rich, dark eyes. "Things are so much easier when you just let them happen."

Anthony unbuckled Joven's belt, slowly drawing down his pants. Joven could only watch and suck in a deep breath as Anthony parted his lips and took him inside.

* * *

"Answer my goddamn message, you stupid fuck! Ugh!" Lasercorn tossed his phone down onto the couch cushion.

Ian came out of the shower, completely naked and toweling his damp hair. "What's got you so frustrated?"

Lasercorn looked up and paused to look Ian over with a brief smirk of approval before he shrugged. "It's Joven. He kind of had a bombshell dropped on him tonight. And it was kind of my fault. And I really wanna make sure he's doing okay, or apologize at least, but he's ignoring all my texts. Hey - why don't you send him a message?"

"Or we could always just leave him alone." Ian headed over, settling beside Lasercorn and taking his phone away, putting it out of reach. "If he doesn't wanna talk, let him not talk. He probably has a lot to think about. What major bombshell did you drop?"

Lasercorn rubbed the back of his neck. "Well...you know Mari's secret boyfriend? It was Sohinki. And I knew about it pretty much since the day you and I got together."

"What? Seriously? You didn't tell me?"

"I didn't tell anyone, Ian. And that's why I've been avoiding those guys - especially Sohinki. Because whenever I'm around that bastard, it just fucked with me. How could he do that to Joven? I just don't understand what in his little weasel head made him think this was an okay thing to do?"

"I'm sure he had his reasons..."

"Like what?" Lasercorn challenged, staring at Ian expectantly.

Ian raised his hands. "Hey, I don't know. I'm just trying to be reasonable here. Sohinki might be a lot of things, but I don't think he's that much of a douchebag. I don't think he deliberately set out to hurt Joven."

"Yeah, well, he did. And it should be him trying to make things right here. Not me."

"So let him." Ian reached out, resting his palms on Lasercorn's cheeks and leaning in to kiss him softly. "Focus on me, because I can either get dressed right now or wear you for a little while instead."

Lasercorn rolled his eyes. "I wish you weren't so irresistible. Damnit."

Ian smirked. "Can't help it. It's my nature."

"Get over here and makeout with me." Lasercorn grabbed Ian around the waist and dragged him into a kiss.

Their lips met and Lasercorn felt just as happy as he had on day one of their relationship. Being able to freely kiss Ian every day was a privilege most would kill for. And even that was nothing compared to the sex. Lasercorn was pretty sure that if things didn't work out with Ian, he wouldn't be able to date another guy. And he was also pretty sure he would never be able to have sex as amazing again. So he hoped Iancorn was in it for the long haul.

Just as Lasercorn's hand started to wander toward the good bits of Ian, Ian's phone went off with a text message. Lasercorn was pretty much going to kiss Ian straight through, but Ian pulled back. "No, wait. Where are you going? You're distracting me. Keep distracting me. No phones allowed. You banished mine, after all."

"I'm just turning it off. Geesh." Ian picked up his phone from the table, about to hit the top button only to pause with a blink. "Oh." He read and reread the message. "Oh shit."

Lasercorn's interest was piqued. "What?" He sat up and looked over Ian's shoulder. "What is it?"

"Anthony just sent me a message telling me he blew Joven."

"What?!"

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking..."

"Do you know what this means?" A grin appeared on Lasercorn's lips.

Ian rolled his eyes. "That they don't need our help to make Jovanthony a thing?"

"Bzz! Wrong! They need ALL of our help to make Jovanthony a thing. Holy shit, I can't believe my plan actually worked! Okay, so now we're going to return the favor Anthony gave us. We need to lock them in a room together and convince them to have amazing buttsex."

"Hold on, hold on. You can't just go convincing them to do that. Let them do it on their own terms. Maybe this is a one time thing. Maybe Joven tastes really gross. Anthony didn't say one way or the other."

"So, text him back and ask." Lasercorn wrapped his arms around Ian's torso, leaning his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Get the deets, dude. Deets or it didn't happen."

"First you wanted me to ignore it, now you're making me answer. You're so annoying."

"You love every minute of it." Lasercorn kissed the side of Ian's neck.

"I plead the fifth." Ian texted Anthony back.

"Pleading the fifth is pretty much like admitting it without admitting it. What'd you ask him?"

"If he was interested in Joven." The phone went off.

"And what'd he say?"

Ian read it. "He doesn't know."

"Well, we're just gonna have to make up his mind for him, huh? Team Iancorn is on the mission." Lasercorn rubbed his hands together in maniacal glee. "Muahahaha!"

"We're an evil team? I was hoping this was fighting for a good cause. We can't _make_ them be interested in each other, you know."

"Maybe not, but we sure as hell can plant the idea in their heads over and over again. C'mon. Don't you think they would be great with each other? Joven's a good guy, and so's Anthony. They deserve to be good guys together."

"That's not exactly logical criteria for a relationship."

"Shut up and go with it."

Ian rolled his eyes with a smile. The smile faded after a few seconds, though. "On a serious note, don't go saying any of this to anyone. I'm not so sure Anthony wants anyone else to know, and unless Joven goes ahead and volunteers the information himself, I doubt he wants it out in the open either."

"Please. I can keep a secret except when it pisses me off. I'll be subtle about it. And I mean subtle for me which is really not subtle at all, but I won't give in that I know anything. I'll just act like my typical, obnoxious self." Lasercorn leaned over and bit down on one of Ian's exposed nipples.

"Ow, hey!"

"It's your fault. You've been naked in front of me too long. That's what you get. I'm getting frisky."

"Friskycorn. Kinkycorn. Either way, let's defeat the purpose of me getting a shower by getting all kinds of dirty."

"Sounds like a plan."

Lasercorn straddled Ian's hips and kissed him hard. He hoped Joven would be able to get to this point with Anthony because everyone deserved to have an amazing sex life with a member of the Smosh Duo - but only very few got to have that honor. And if anyone deserved anything honorable for all the shit he had gone through, it was Joven.


End file.
